They would never expect the Spanish Inquisition–they were merely trying to deliver so-called ‘outdated’ economic cultures from their seemingly depressive states. I assume that very few of us would accuse the World Banks or IMFs of the global economy of intentionally marching through traditional markets with a big stick filled with thorns and pipe dreams. Despite the perfusion of pretentious conspiracy theories that my liberal college peers would blatter on demand, I honestly believe that mega institutions like IMF and World Bank earnestly strive to eradicate poverty.
But I’m not writing to argue for or against the specifics of their methods (privatization, deregulation, etc.)-we have all heard enough ‘gospel’ and ‘tyrant’ stances on the matter. But I would like to share an interesting perspective that I came across while reading a collection of articles in “Subverting Greed: Religious Perspectives on the Global Economy.” The anthology, edited by Paul Knitter and Chandra Muzaffar, comprises of a series of articles from representatives of different faiths and their application of their dogma to economics. As a Christian, I have already read and heard plenty of religious interpretations of economic theories and principles. However, David Loy’s Buddhist understanding of capitalism, IMFs and free-markets has been stuck in my mind ever since reading it earlier this week.

Loy’s article mostly builds off of the Buddhist Sutra, or scripture, called “The Lion’s Roar Sutra.” The narrative commences with a wealthy king who aspires to run a nation rid of crime. However, a series of unfortunate events unfold when he decides to accumulate wealth without any intent to distribute his fortune. Consequently, one guy decides to rob another man of his property because he didn’t have the adequate assets to sustain himself or his family. The king responds by giving the man what he considered enough money to run a small business. It was only a matter of time until a domino effect caused the entire community to steal, with each poor man knowing that the king would compensate them to restore order by his standards. But when everyone’s chicanery inflated crime rates, the king finally decided to respond with force: he decapitated the next thief. One would assume that this put an end to the high crime rates; in reality, it only made things worse-theft morphed into armed robberies. The moral of this Buddhist parable is that the king’s greed leads to poverty, which stands at the root of civil unrest and violence. When the king tried to correct his initial error by taping fiat on open wounds to make each inhabitant look and act just, by his own standards, the return was a moral decay and a loss of the traditional means of living that existed amongst the people prior to his intrusion.

What the King lacked was dana: the Buddhist understanding of genuine generosity which can only be achieved through ones detachment from his possessions. Even though the king was willing to distribute his wealth as a reactionary policy, the fact that he quantifies and commodifies the so-called wealth as a means to restore contentment amongst his people is indicative of the value he’s attached to fiat. To his dismay, the traditional economy that once existed was saturated with dukkha, or an innate desire of humans to acquire material riches. Although I am a devout Christian, I have fallen in love with this narrative. As Loy put it, true wealth is only measured by contentment. The fact that a United Nations Human Development Report projects that the amount of Americans who considered themselves ‘happy’ peaked in 1957, even though GDP has nearly doubled since then, suggests that there is (surprise!) hardly any correlation between the ever-expanding economy and our well-being. Once we reach a certain income, the ‘happy line’ generally flattens out. Maybe America can use a little more dana, or at least Weber’s “spirit of protestant ethics”

During my undergrad years, all of us religion majors would fuss and quarrel over what constituted a ‘religion’ in our Theories course. From a lion pride to the NY Yankees, folks were willing to muster up all of their brain cells to make the most compelling arguments for the most outlandish ideas-that’s why I’m about to do the same thing here. While I won’t go as far as saying that economics is a form of religion, I do believe that the way that IMF and World Bank function today exhibits a lot of parallels to the evangelists we scrutinized yesterday. Catholicism was virtually incompatible with Mayan culture and Capitalism seems to have the reverse effects amongst the Kayapo People of Brazil, the traditional indigenous population of the country. In societies where religion is synonymous with economics, to the extent that economics is virtually unacknowledged amongst the inhabitants, importing and applying external theories–no matter how well intended they are–is a prerequisite for a Spanish Inquisition. But, just like the medieval days, we accept certain economic theories as ‘the way it is,” and greet deviants with chuckles and sneer. Well, I guess that means I wounded up falling into my own trap and judging IMF and World Bank…

I highly, and I mean HIGHLY, recommend this book to everyone. It uses seven different faiths and its application to failed and successful economics.

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Kate McGowan is a former Rochester television news reporter now working in the non-profit sector for the nation’s leading children’s charity, Make-A-Wish. She is passionate about inspiring young professionals to use their talents in becoming more actively involved in their communities. Follow her on Twitter at @KateMcGowan

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